Like many PR people, I’ve been monitoring reaction to the @DiGiorno Twitter debacle, in which the person behind the company’s Twitter account made a joke using the #WhyIStayed hashtag without realizing that tag was being used to discuss stories of domestic violence.

Beyond providing a lesson on the need to think before you tweet, as well as the benefits of a sincere apology, the story has shown once again how anonymous message boards are, as Roger Pynn has pointed out, the sewer of the Internet.

Check this comment from “guest” to a PR Daily story: “PR people have to clean up after clueless and ignorant social media staffers who don’t read and think before they comment … if this guy worked for me, he’d be gone. No second chances.”

Then there’s this comment from “Anonymous:” “The premise that apologies are required is a fallacy of the young and inexperienced and naïve. What is required is corrective action … firing the person responsible and announcing that.”

I’m neither young, nor inexperienced, nor (I hope) naïve, but I happen to believe quite strongly that apologies ARE required when you screw up. When you make a mistake, say so, apologize for it and then take corrective action.

But is dismissal really the appropriate corrective action in this case? The poster realized his mistake almost immediately, apologized profusely to all followers, then apologized over and over again to everyone who rightfully called his post stupid, idiotic, moronic and every other word that means just plain dumb.

We’re not in the habit of firing people for making mistakes. If so, I’d have fired myself a thousand times over the last 20+ years. This was by all means a whopper of a mistake, one that was easily avoidable. But it wasn’t willful. It should be an experience from which the poster hopefully will learn, rather than a mistake from which his career will never recover.

As a kid, there was no better treat than Carvel—especially a Fudgie the Whale cake. If you grew up in Carvel country, you know what I’m talking about. Sadly, the Carvel in town eventually closed and there were no more ice cream cakes.

Today, I came upon an even sadder whale tale. Twitter’s iconic Fail Whale is no longer. If you were around in the first few years of Twitter, the Fail Whale often made daily appearances. The whale would appear when the site’s servers reached capacity. It was almost a badge of honor when you got the whale … like you knew you were part of something big, something that everyone was talking—er, Tweeting about.

From a brand perspective, I can see why Twitter, with all of its mega-success, would want to distance itself from something called a Fail Whale, but next thing you know, the Twitter bird is going to be replaced with a dollar sign.

Suddenly, my Save the Whales tag has taken on a totally different meaning.

Since the advent of social media, brands have been destroying their online reputations quicker than you can say “tweet.” If you need an example, just read the latest gaffe from a certain fashion designer whose brand won’t be promoted with any extra Web traffic in this post.

Last week I received an unusual phone call. The woman on the other end of the phone had a request for me: she’d like my name … my Twitter username to be exact.

She proceeded to explain that she was calling on behalf of a fashion designer in NYC who shares my name, Kimberly Taylor. And as the publicist for said designer, she was experiencing difficulty with the “branding” because there was often confusion between her Twitter account and mine.

Admittedly, I had received a few misdirected tweets, but nothing to indicate that the Twittersphere was up in arms about the name confusion.

She went on to explain that “I’m just a person” and they’re working on a “brand.” I’m not sure about you, but I don’t think that’s the most convincing or endearing argument to make.

Furthermore, I wasn’t about to school another PR person about branding. Branding is more than just a name. A brand is a promise you make to your customer.

So, my questions to you are: What’s in a name? And, would you give yours up?

That said, if you’ve been following any of the buzz lately about the unveiling of the new GAP logo, you’ll agree they have a long way to go.

Twitter, Facebook and design blogs continue to flood with dismay and negative feedback about this epic design faux pas, especially given the history and brand image the GAP has upheld for years.

Despite the negative buzz, we see heightened social media engagement on the topic through a paradoxal Twitter account @GapLogo – tagline “I have feelings, too. Jerks.” and their Facebook page serving as platforms for continued engagement on the topic encouraging discussions and a mass exchange of ideas. This has also sparked design competitions for incentives and has increased traffic substantially to blogs and other social media outlets. Here’s a tweet from UnderConsideration:

We see social media used by a major brand the way it should be. Showing the utmost transparency and engaging customers on a personal level. It’s quite brilliant actually.

Looking beyond the mayhem, this silver lining of engagement and level of consumer responsiveness reveal a heightened sense of brand loyalty. The fact that the GAP is uber-sensitive to this means that they are a few steps closer to finding a solution. Until then … “fail harder.”

I know a lot of bloggers have polls about thoughts on the logo. We get it; everyone hates it. But, what do you think should be done about this?